Broadway Media To Donate 107.9 KUDD Salt Lake City; Upgrade 92.5 KUUU

Broadway Media has announced it will donate the license for CHR “Mix 107.9” KUDD Randolph/Salt Lake City to Community Wireless, Inc, the owners of Public News/AAA 91.9 KPCW Park City.

As part of the deal the groups will apply for contingent upgrades. KPCW will move to 91.7 and Broadway Rhythmic CHR “U92” 92.5 KUUU South Jordan to 92.3 with a stronger signal in Salt Lake City proper. Broadway will pay all costs associated with KPCW’s upgrades.

It has been expected for months that the “Mix” CHR format will move to the upgraded 105.1 KAUU Manti in some form. 105.1 is currently stunting with Christmas music as “The Gift“.

KPCW-FM, the nonprofit community radio station serving Summit and Wasatch Counties since 1980, has entered into an agreement with Salt Lake City-based Broadway Media to acquire its FM station KUDD, operating along the Wasatch Front on 107.9 FM. Broadway Media is donating the radio station at no cost to KPCW.

“This is the largest donation to KPCW in our 35 year history and helps secure our future as the community broadcaster dedicated to local coverage of news and information in Summit and Wasatch counties,” said Bob Richer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Community Wireless, Inc., which owns KPCW. “KUDD is a significant asset to add to our current station. We are free to either program it ourselves or sell it to a third party to raise money for an endowment to help support KPCW.”

In a related transaction, KPCW will agree to move its frequency on the FM dial from 91.9 to 91.7 in the coming months. “Broadway generously has offered to cover all the costs of the frequency change, including the construction of new transmission facilities at a higher power level,” KPCW President and General Manager Larry Warren reported. “The enhanced signal at 91.7 will widen and strengthen our over-the-air signal, allowing us better reception inside buildings and along the Wasatch Back’s major transportation corridors.”

The frequency move will allow Broadway to make signal improvements to KUUU, an FM station it operates at 92.3 FM on the dial. “This is a change in frequencies which benefits both parties,” Warren reported. “Each station gets a better signal to better serve its listeners.”

“In addition,” Richer added, “we now have the costs of our signal upgrade covered by Broadway, eliminating our need to launch a capital campaign and compete with other worthy nonprofits in our community which also have substantial capital needs.”

The transaction requires federal regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission. After that, Broadway will construct the necessary transmission facilities to move KPCW to 91.7 FM. The project is expected to be completed in late winter, 2016. The two parties involved closed the deal on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.

“This project will only strengthen KPCW, both financially and in terms of our broadcast infrastructure,” Community Wireless Board President Bob Richer commented. “We are confident this positions KPCW to continue serving our listeners and communities far into the future.”

Lance Venta is the Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com and a consultant for RadioBB Networks specializing in integration of radio and the internet. Lance has two decades of experience tracking the audio industry and its use of digital platforms.

This is great news. The 92.3 upgrade for KUUU and the move to 105.1 for KUDD should give the two stations better coverage and improvements in the area, plus its a good thing their formats will be retained.

Wow….the lengths Broadway will go to keep a nearly full market signal out of the hands of other broadcasters (and get a tax break). Broadway and their associates are now in the business of keeping potential competition out of the market after years of adding to one of the most crowded dials is the country (thanks Simmons-Millcreek). As regards both Mix and U92, signal only gets you so far, relevant programming might help. Mix has been the proverbial also-ran on the CHR end for years and U92 – who knows? A tough listen for anyone over 30. Good luck with the upgrades – see you in the monthlies.

That’s not the point at all – they didn’t have to get rid of 107.9 in the first place. It was used as “payment” to get them to move down the dial a bit so that they could move 92.5 down to 92.3. That couldn’t happen without 91.9 moving to 91.7.

Meanwhile, once has to wonder what will happen with KTCE, which covers the Provo area from Payson at 92.1. Chances are that Moenkopi Communications might have to either move to a new signal or have something to say about this.

I took a look at the mess of apps and changes down at that end of the dial recently…it’s confusing!

It looks like 92.5 was going to go from a C2 to an A because of the big move that involved KCUA Diamondville, WY. going to 92.5C1. They later downgraded KCUA from a C1 to a C2, which allowed KUUU to remain as a C2.

The current spacing has a margin of 16KM to KTCE, 2KM to KPCW, and 3KM to KCUA.

I’m wondering if they’re looking to possibly stay on 92.5, and downgrade KCUA even further. With KPCW moving down one channel, that would allow an upgrade on 92.5 with a downgrade to KCUA.

If they go to 92.3, it would they would have the same spacing issues with KPCW, and additional ones with KTCE that would need to be resolved.

I did notice that there *may* be a possibility that KCUA could move to 92.7C1. Looking at the spacing tables on their last application, they show 92.9C1 as being 105km away. C1 to C1 spacing requires 110km.